Author: Zabadak

Time was when you could be interested in everything, and develop your interests in whichever direction took your fancy. Our chemist today was one such. These days, we are inclined to be more narrow, specialised, … Read more “27982 Thursday, 20 May 2021 A robin…has very little time to rest.”

I trundled though this in 17.56, with a good three minutes of that wondering what to put in at 11 across and being dense about it. Throughout there is a veritable compendium of standard abbreviations, … Read more “27970 Thursday, 6 May 2021 I prefer frogs.”

In keeping with the name and style of this community, I cheerfully report that my time for this one was 17.43, mostly but not entirely (see entries below) properly sorted out and submitted with the … Read more “27958 Thursday, 22 April 2021 Hans that does dishes can be soft as Gervais”

I made rather heavy weather of this, slowed by an entry I put in but was very dubious about and an entry I injudiciously biffed. When you have a dubious entry, it tends to make … Read more “27946 Thursday, 8 April 2021 Mr and Mrs Igitur and their flamboyant son Gaudy Amos”

A perfectly acceptable birthday present of a puzzle (I’m one short of the Biblical limit, unless I turn out to be strong) which I completed in a smidge over one score and 2 minutes. There … Read more “27934 Thursday, 25 March 2021 From Maternity to Here”

How about if I say I found this slightly easier than my average, clocking in at 17.53? It does contain a few community pet peeves, with race and nation regarded as equivalents (though it does … Read more “27922 Thursday, 11 March 2021 In which Eve gets the blame (again).”

This looks like a not-too-taxing puzzle, which I thought I was doing even better at than my time of 15.44 indicates. No real holdups along the way, although I only worked out the Chinese biscuity … Read more “27910 Thursday, 25 February 2021 I still remember money!”

I wonder if the setter knew it was my turn, and deliberately included Arsenal and Chelsea, Spurs’ London rivals, and Everton who beat us by the odd goal in nine last night to dump us … Read more “27898 Thursday, 11 February 2021 The Rivals”

I worked steadily through this in very nearly 18 minutes, some of the time thinking there’d be struggles in some quarters, what with TLS qualified authors and non-Python philosophers, a bizarre plant or two, and … Read more “27886 Thursday, 28 January 2021 In which resistance isn’t futile”

I found this rather easy and whizzed through in 11.31 scarcely pausing for breath and (truthfully) making sure the wordplay worked. Unusually, there is no “hidden” answer, and no every-other-letter clue, and only two anagrams … Read more “27874 Thursday, 14 January 2021 Unimpeachable”